Art in General presents robbinschilds’ experimental project in two parts:

Part 1: I came here on my own. loops a seemingly endless quest beyond place, time, and logic. Began on residency in Christchurch, New Zealand, upon which robbinschilds encountered the country’s iconic ‘Man Alone’ trope, their video rewrites and subverts the classic male journey myth through two women undertaking mirrored but separate journeys. Presented as a four-channel installation, the video’s loop perpetuates a seemingly endless quest for something greater. The journey is left intentionally open, at once evoking legend, myth, and fable while simultaneously re-contextualizing the archetypal concepts of man in nature, lone traveler and conquering hero. Distinct geographical locations and larger than life imagery frame an extraordinary journey beyond place, time, and logic. robbinschilds’ questions gender and national identity’s relationship to the existential quest, using ritual and repetition to enrich our understanding of who, and what, we are.

robbinschilds was formed by choreographers, Sonya Robbins and Layla Childs in 2003. In 2010 robbinschilds received an Art Matters travel grant to visit and work in Iceland, and in 2011 they were awarded a MAP Fund production grant for their current performance project I came here on my own. robbinschilds has staged several exhibitions/interventions, including Constructions I-IV, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts (2011); and Instruction Construction, Salina Arts Center, Salina, Kansas (2011), among others. robbinschilds’ performances and video art screenings include Instruction Construction, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, NY (2010); SalzburggrubzlaS, Catch, Brooklyn Starr, New York, NY (2010); Layla and Sonya Go Camping, Images Festival, Toronto, Canada; Mount Temper Arts Summer Festival, Mount Temper, NY; The Kitchen, New York, NY (2009-2010); and C.L.U.E., BAM, New York, NY; PS122, New York, NY; The New Museum, New York, NY; Donau Festival, Austria; and the TBA Festival, Portland, Oregon (2007-2009), among others.

All images courtesy the artists.

The New Commissions Program is made possible by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services; Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Trust for Mutual Understanding; the Jerome Foundation; and The Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Support has also been provided by Commissioners’ Circle leaders Jeffery Larsen and Joseph Bolduc; Commissioners’ Circle Supporters Roya Khadjavi and Massoud Heidari, Cher Lewis, and Joyce and Ken Siegel; and Commissioners’ Circle members Sue Berland, Sean Johnson, Mary Lapides, Steve Shane, and Jeremy E. Steinke. Additional support for robbinschilds’ project was provided by Art Matters and The MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.